This invention relates to automatic systems and methods for compressing coil turns and inserting insulators in the slots of a dynamoelectric machine. More particularly it relates to systems and methods for pressing coil turns and inserting phase insulators and slot separator wedge insulators in a slotted stator core where the stator core is initially provided with slot liners terminating with protective end cuffs projecting from one or both end faces of the stator core and with at least one set of windings, such as the main windings, loosely inserted in the stator core slots.
The many processing steps involved in the manufacture of electric motors can require that the motor be handled manually many times as it progresses through individual steps of laminate construction, coil winding and insertion, insertion of slot liners and various phase insulators and slot separator wedge insulators. In order to reduce the manufacturing costs associated with repetitive handling and manual processing at each step it is desirable to provide as much automation as possible. An example of automated phase insulator insertion equipment is disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 91,081, filed Nov. 5, 1979 in the name of Fredrick Koenig and entitled "Methods And Apparatus For Feeding And Handling Electrical Phase Insulators For Dynamoelectric Machines" which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference (now U.S. Pat. No. 4,349,956). Briefly, the disclosed apparatus loads prefabricated phase insulators onto a rotatable arbor which is then inserted into the stator bore where the insulators are ejected with connector legs of parallel phase insulators being pushed into preselected slots of the stator core. At the conclusion of the insulator insertion step, the insertion arbor is removed from the core and reloaded with a new set of phase insulators for the next stator core.
Another example of automated equipment is the slot separator wedge insulator insertion machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,009 entitled "Apparatus And Methods For Aligning And Placing Insulating Members In Magnetic Core Slots" issued on May 31, 1977 in the names of Alan L. Kindig and Ronald H. Brown and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference. Briefly, an alignment and wedge guide arbor is inserted into a stator bore with wedge guides aligned with selected slots of the stator. Precut wedges are pushed through the guides into the slots. In an improvement disclosed in the patent, the wedges, during insertion, are retained against the slot teeth away from the coil turns by means of elongated spring wires extending the length of the slots. As the arbor and spring wires are removed, the resilient wedges return to their original shape and move into firm, non-twisted engagement with the coil turns in the slots.
These and other examples of individual automated equipment still require that the stator cores be manually handled while being transferred from one set of equipment to the other.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an automated system and method for the manufacture of slotted core dynamoelectric machines which will provide a series of automated processing steps without the necessity of manually handling the cores between steps and which obviates the disadvantages of present forms of semiautomatic manufacturing process steps.
It is another object of the invention to provide an automated system and method of the indicated type which accomplishes a plurality of manufacturing steps with a minimum amount of floor space being occupied and which can be operated conveniently by a single human operator.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an automated system and method that rapidly and reliably compresses previously inserted coil turns in the slots of a stator core, inserts phase insulators and slot separator wedge insulators and further compresses the coil turns with the insulators in the slots preparatory to subsequent insertion of additional coil turns in the slots.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide in an automated system of the type described, apparatus for reliably and positively retaining the stator core on a movable worktable as the core is moved through a series of manufacturing steps and further to provide a convenient means of indicating the presence of a stator core at each step of the manufacturing process to avoid false operation of the equipment involved at that particular manufacturing step.
Finally it is another object of the invention to provide an automated system of the type described which includes phase insulation insertion apparatus and which enables the operator of the system to remotely select and control the angular orientation at which the phase insulators are to be inserted into the stator from one of a plurality of selectable angular orientations corresponding to the specific model of dynamoelectric machine being manufactured.